The sons of the Prophet are brave men and bold
And quite unaccustomed to fear
But the bravest by far in the ranks of the Shah
Was Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
Now the heroes were plenty and well known to fame
In the troops that were led by the Tsar
And the bravest of these was a man by the name
Of Ivan Skavinsky-Skavar
One day this bold Russian had shouldered his gun
And donned his most truculent sneer
Downtown he did go where he trod on the toe
Of Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
Young man, quoth Abdul, has life grown so dull
That you wish to end your life
And your career?
Vile infidel, no, you have trod on the toe
Of Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
Said Ivan, my friend, your remarks in the end
Will avail you but little, I fear
For your ne'er will survive to repeat them alive
Mr. Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
So take your last look at Sunshine and Brook
And send your regrets to Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
By this I imply you are going to die
Count Ivan Skavinsky-Skavar
They fought all that night neath the pale yellow moon
The din it was heard from afar
And huge multitudes came
So great was the fame of Abdul and Ivan Skavar
The Sultan drove by in his red-breasted fly
Expecting to see you again in the future
In the victor to cheer
But he only drew nigh just to hear the last sigh
Of Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
Tsar Petrovich too in his spectacles blue
Rode up in his new crested car
He arrived just in time to exchange a last line
With Ivan Skavinsky-Skavar
There the tomb rises up where the blue Danube rolls
Engraved in characters clear
A stranger when passing go pray for the soul
Of Abdul, Abu'l-Bal Amir
A Moscow bike maiden her lone vigil keeps
Neath the light of the pale polar star
And the name that she murmurs so oft as she weeps
Is Ivan Skavinsky-Skavar